Those Barbie memes get me LOL-ing every time I see one on my feed.
There’s Barbie, looking like she just crawled out of the rubble; hair all over the place, clothes stained with soot, dark circles under her eyes.
Sometimes she’s smoking a cigarette which really makes me laugh.
And in the background there will be a picture of a raging fire, a bombed out building, a screenshot of a White House press conference with the headline "more bad news!"
The caption will be something like me still planning my garden or me promoting my small business down below.
What makes it funny is the fact that… It's absolutely true (even if the image is AI slop).
Because when the same platforms where we’re expected to do our marketing are live streaming genocide and illegal wars and state violence and climate catastrophe, to name but a few of the horrors that persist in 2026…
After a while, as a small business owner, you do start to feel a little like Barbie.
Not just from the relentless parade of bad news.
But from constantly asking yourself whether or not you should keep on going business as usual when it’s anything but.
I’m sorry to say that this newsletter doesn't have a clear answer to this question or a solution or even a guideline, although I do like this handy little decision matrix Lex Roman created.
In general, I tend to side with Samantha Young who posted this on Threads recently:
And back in January here's what I wrote to the folks in Flourish - the sort-of secret Decelerator after party - which I think pretty much sums it all up:
Building a small business often feels pointless in the shadow of a falling empire and all. this. violence.
A lot of the time summoning the energy to write my little marketing emails feels so beyond my capacity when my heart hurts so damn much.
And other times...
I remember that part of me that knows down to her bones that small businesses, run by women, creating good and change in the world through their business models, products and services, is the way through the darkness.
I started Slow & Steady to get free.
My business exists to help your business exist. This is the light. And, this is how we advance the Feminine Economy.
One slow and steady business at a time.
When the news is so bleak it’s hard to hold two truths at the same time, but that doesn’t mean they stop being true.
We can grieve the old world that we've lost, we can feel the pain of living in 2026 (and 2025 and 2024 and...).
And we can still hold hope for the future.
After all, the sun doesn't stop shining on a cloudy day or in the dead of night.
Until next time, go slow and stay steady.
Amanda Laird
Growth Marketing Strategist
Founder, Slow & Steady Studio